Family of Watsonville man suspected of stealing, crashing plane speaks out

The family of Hugo Mar, the man suspected of stealing a small aircraft from the Watsonville airport and crashing it, says they are now left with more questions than answers.

“I have a lot of questions that no one can answer,” said Mar’s brother Javier Mar.

Javier Mar said the investigators have gone off of “circumstantial evidence” but Javier said there is no current hard evidence.

“One person in the plane, one fatality, and they put my brother in there. Well, how do they know?”

Hugo Mar is suspected of stealing the plane from the Santa Cruz Flying Club at the Watsonville Airport. He is a member of the club and was denied permission to fly that plane the same day it went missing.

Investigators said his car was also found abandoned at the airport and no one has seen him since the night the plane disappeared.

The Federal Aviation Administration said its data shows the plane crashed 3 miles off the coast of the Santa Cruz Mountains, but no wreckage has been found.

The Coast Guard did send two helicopters out to search the area for debris June 29 once it received the report from the FAA, but nothing was found. The Coast Guard said now the search is suspended until they receive further evidence.